Rik devastated by BBC casting snub

Ben Elton reveals how Mayall was hit hard by failing to get lead sitcom role

- BY MARK JEFFERIES Showbiz Editor

COMEDY legend Ben Elton has told how his pal Rik Mayall was devastated to be snubbed by the BBC just a few months before his death.

Blackadder and The Young Ones writer Ben had in 2011 been asked to pitch a sitcom to the Beeb, and wrote health and safety satire The Wright Way. He wanted Rik for the lead, and after what seemed like a successful table read of the script in 2012, thought their comedy partnership would resume.